So we begin. For those of you who may not know, the Marlins are about to embark, once again. The Organization and Armed Forces Entertainment are teaming up for our FOURTH TOUR together supporting our men and women who serve and protect our country. The first three visits covered the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Germany/The Balkans and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This one will be visiting the Pacific: Japan, Guam and Hawaii, in 15 days to be exact. The attendees are listed at the bottom of the marlins.com/troopsvisit web page.

After a 5AM call time (my apologies to that) and tears in our eyes as we left our loved ones, we traveled more than 7,000 miles and 17 hours in the air. If it wasn’t for the gloomy weather when we landed, we would have seen the sun for nearly 20 hours! I met a couple of Japanese natives on the flight, and the one thing I was amazed at most was the number of times they travel from our country to theirs. They must love the U. S. of A!

Before I close for the day, I’d like to give a grateful thanks to Jennifer Milikien, Public Affairs Director for Armed Forces Entertainment, Captain John Gilleland, Circuit Manager of our tour from Armed Forces Entertainment and Atsushi Uchino (“Spike”), one of the coordinators from Armed Forces Entertainment who helped us begin our journey. Without them, the entertainment and support of the Miami Marlins and Armed Forces Entertainment would not exist.

So now the main objective begins. 15 days, 3 countries and 4,400 soldiers to visit. Our mission…To Show Our Support To Our Troops. I encourage every reader / follower to ask us any and every question they want an answer to relating to the attendees and the trip. Send your questions to troopsvisit@marlins.com and let us know who’s asking and from where! Ask everything from how much gel does Bryan Petersen put in his hair, to anything about all of our visits. We’ll let you know how Billy The Marlin’s new look and attitude is going as we debut Billy for the first time to the world as a Miami Marlin!

LET’S GO FISH!

Sincerely,

Luis Dones, Supervisor of Game Presentation & Events                                                                             XoxXoO

 About Armed Forces Entertainment: As the official Department of Defense agency for providing entertainment to U.S. military per-sonnel overseas, Armed Forces Entertainment and its performers have the honor of supporting soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines by bringing them the very best in American entertainment. Today, Armed Forces Entertainment hosts more than 1,200 shows around the world each year, reaching more than 500,000 personnel at 270 military installations. Musicians, comedians, cheerleaders, and celebrities of sports, movies and television are just some of the talented people recruited to perform for our troops. It’s their way of saying “thank you” for the sacrifices U.S. military personnel make during their tours of duty.